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The way forward for fantasy
Keep in mind that massive outdated GeForce NOW leak from 2021? The one which supposedly revealed a listing of in-development initiatives at varied AAA studios? I’ve been fascinated with that leak for simply over a 12 months now. Extra particularly, I’ve been fascinated with one title on that listing: a remake of Last Fantasy IX.
Not too long ago, one other, a lot much less respected rumor surfaced on 4chan (the thread has since been deleted, however its contents are cataloged on Reddit), suggesting that the Last Fantasy IX remake’s announcement is imminent. I’m unsure whether or not or not I imagine that rumor, nevertheless it acquired me pondering the prospect of this FFIX remake once more. Can we want a remake of Last Fantasy IX at this level?
Effectively, the quick reply is, no, we don’t. The lengthy reply is, no, we don’t… however I actually wouldn’t say no to at least one.
A private favourite
Last Fantasy IX is one in every of my favourite Last Fantasy video games. I performed it for the primary time throughout the final couple of years, and it holds up astonishingly properly. It’s accessible on trendy platforms for reasonable, it doesn’t make any egregiously dated design choices, it appears to be like and sounds superb – I’d go as far as to say it’s top-of-the-line video games you’ll be able to play on current-generation consoles and trendy PCs. It’s decidedly not in want of a remake.
However I wish to put Last Fantasy IX in perspective. It was the final Last Fantasy recreation on the unique PlayStation, and that’s an attention-grabbing place for it to be. Last Fantasy VII and Last Fantasy VIII had been each video games about impolite dudes with a lot of ‘tude, badass main males in cool jackets occupying distinctly cool worlds.
Last Fantasy IX was – I say this with all the love on the earth – dorky. Steiner’s armor is just not an epic tactical go well with of some sort, it’s only a massive slab of molded metallic. One of many social gathering members is a straight-up princess from a far-off kingdom. The place different Last Fantasy video games of the time had been so desirous to push right into a sci-fi future, FFIX was content material to relax out with the vaguely European high-fantasy aesthetics of its NES ancestors.
FFIX can also be uncommonly chill. Even when it inches into the realm of sci-fi in its weirdly introspective closing act, its characters are much less self-serious than these present in different FF video games of the time. Its tragedies are softer, its colours extra vibrant. It simply has a pleasant, cozy vibe about it.
Why does that matter?
I feel that we’re at present in one other “badass” period of Last Fantasy. The final two numbered FF video games each occupy the identical normal house; one is a few bachelor social gathering with a cool flying Cadillac and the opposite is a literal remake(-ish) of Last Fantasy VII. They’re each fairly good at representing “chilled-out” Last Fantasy (FFXV particularly may be very vibey), however they’re simply not fairly on the proper wavelength.
The forthcoming Last Fantasy XVI appears to be like prefer it’ll embrace excessive fantasy, however with a lot much less of the comfy downtime present in Last Fantasy IX and far more little brother loss of life and god-fighting. Last Fantasy XIV is… pay attention, I don’t wish to make anybody mad, so I’m not going to go in-depth on my Last Fantasy XIV ideas. It’s fantastic. It’s fairly good. Eric Van Allen actually likes it, and he’s means smarter than me.
I’m determined for a brand new Last Fantasy recreation that appears like Last Fantasy IX. Ideally, I’d like that to be a brand new recreation (Chained Echoes is sort of scratching the itch), however I might additionally welcome the prospect to simply chill with my outdated FFIX social gathering once more. I just like the badass Last Fantasy video games quite a bit, however they solely symbolize half of what I really like in regards to the collection. Clearly I can simply play different video games – the aforementioned Chained Echoes is nice, and I’ve dipped out and in of Atelier Ryza – however I like Last Fantasy for its tonal variety.
I’d like to see extra of the issues I really like about these video games represented by the fashionable Last Fantasy panorama. A Last Fantasy VII Remake for after I wish to disappear into a really cool world with very attention-grabbing storytelling prospers, and a Last Fantasy IX Remake for after I need the online game equal of a blanket and a cup of tea.
However my enthusiasm for a Last Fantasy IX remake is sort of completely contingent on one title.
Hey, what’s Ito been as much as?
Hiroyuki Ito is among the finest Last Fantasy administrators of all time. He directed Last Fantasy VI, which many take into account to be the only finest entry within the collection. He designed the battle system in Last Fantasy VIII, which is definitely good, and I’m prepared to struggle about it. He directed Last Fantasy IX, a recreation that I like a lot that I’m writing about it proper now! He directed Last Fantasy XII, one other prime contender for “finest within the collection.”
After which, he… kinda disappeared. For about fifteen years after the discharge of Last Fantasy XII, Ito didn’t have a single director credit score. His sole design credit score was on Deadman’s Cross, a middlingly-received PlayStation Vita deckbuilder. Ito wouldn’t make his triumphant return to the director’s chair till 2021’s Dungeon Encounters. And guess what? Dungeon Encounters owns.
I firmly imagine that Hiroyuki Ito’s most up-to-date recreation is the most effective factor he’s ever labored on. It’s a stripped-down, combat-forward JRPG with virtually no written plot, and it’s higher than any Last Fantasy recreation. Ito, the unique designer of the Lively Time Battle system, whittles it all the way down to its barest parts and reveals an unsurprising secret: this man is so good at making video video games. Dungeon Encounters is endlessly participating and chic in its simplicity, and it’s sufficient to show to me that Ito is healthier now than he’s ever been.
If the Last Fantasy IX remake exists, and if Hiroyuki Ito is concerned, I’ll put my preorder cash the place my mouth is. If not… properly, like I mentioned, Last Fantasy IX holds up rather well, so I can all the time play that once more. In actual fact, I’d go play it once more anyway.
Sorrel Kerr-Jung
Freelancer – Sorrel Kerr-Jung has been taking part in video video games for so long as she’s been able to urgent buttons. She’s been writing information and options everywhere in the web for simply over a 12 months, and he or she began throwing phrases at Destructoid in late 2022. Discover her on Twitter: @sorrelkj.
